


Tofu And Dried Tomatoes Spaghetti

by anellope



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, As it should be, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, But also, Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh Are Best Friends, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie tozier is a single dad, So in reality is more a Aged-Down Character(s), also them because Bev is like their forever-third-wheel and I love this, and also stanpat and their love child, and eddie does too but he's apsolutely sure of what he's doing, but in reality is much more!, but less, but not really because Eddie is always there so...bah, but not really because in reality they are all in thir 40s but the fandom is duumb???, but they have actually more moments because plot so yeah, c'mon guys, like...a lot. Is embarassing, okay now i need to add more tags for force people to read my story, richie will adopt a child without even notice it, single parent, so this is reddie and their love child, there's also one-sided stanlon becasue I LIKE PAIN, they are all young adults, this is not so bad i like it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-06-02 10:46:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19439881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anellope/pseuds/anellope
Summary: "You know, I think it makes sense""How can any of this make sense to you?""He was Georgie's favorite back then. And Richie loved him too, he always complained, but it was impossible not noticing how he smiled brighter when he could make my brother laugh. When he- when he d-died, Richie s-suh-suffered a lot more than what he showed at the t-time...I mean, I think Richie had always had a soft spot for kids, he just can't help it"In which a kid escaped from a dinosaur tried to pick-pocket Richie Tozier.[UNFINISHED]





	1. A child, a dinosaur, but no promotion

_You can do it he_ repeated for the tenth time.   
_You can do it, you are Richie Tozier, for heaven's sake, you can bear all this._

"Are we almost there? We're putting in a lifetime."

_No, he wouldn't have made it._

"You asked me three minutes ago and, as I said three minutes ago, there are still about ten minutes left"

"But how can they still miss ten minutes if three have already passed?"

_Why, why it had to have happened to him?_

"About, I said about, so now it's still _about_ ten more"

"So… " the child continued, raising and lowering his feet, thinking about something Richie didn't know "We can say that there are _about_ seven until we’re there, right?"

Richie leaned wearily with his elbows on his knees "Yes, we can say so too"

He was exhausted, this morning he had felt that it would be a hard day already as soon as he opened his eyes, he should have stayed at home and take the day off, and instead…

He watched the child as he raised himself on his knees -putting his feet on the seat of the damn train- and looking out of the window with a bored face. He sighed again.

...And instead he got up from the bed, damn it, he had prepared himself and had run towards the garages of his apartment building, discovering with terror that the car didn't want to work.

So he had to run to not miss the train, not being able to stop at the cafe by Bev and Mike to have breakfast, skipping it, crowning the morning discovering that the promotion he had been _SO_ longing for two whole months had been given to that asshole Jamie.

_Fuck you, Jamie._

But not even that asshole was the peak of that hellish day, hell no, because when he was coming towards the station to finally return to his apartment he had to feel a hand slip into his pants pocket.

But it was obvious it would have happened, he had even said, it was obvious he would have found an elementary child literally hanging by his arm from his pocket in the obvious attempt to rub his wallet.

It was obvious because in the meantime the day was getting too wonderful, right?

No, at all. Richie was actually sure it was still strange to find yourself having to babysit for a visibly lost child, even for a shitty day like his.

He had made him sit in one of the station benches noting how scared he was that he had been caught pick-pocketing. He had tried to calm him down, Richie didn't know how to handle children well but he was pretty sure the boy was scared of the consequences of what he did would cost him, and he really wanted to do something to help him.

"Hey, don't worry, nothing will happen to you, now let's call your parents and everything will be fine, okay?"

He thought he had gone well, he was ready to pat himself on the back for the superfine management of the situation, but out of the blue the child burst into a desperate cry that had frightened Richie more than he expected.

"Heyheyhey, little thing, what's the matter with you? Why are you crying, please tell me!" "No-no" had started the child between hiccups "I can not go ho-oome, no- I don’t want to, don’t take me home, the dino-saur will ta-aake me"

"What?" Richie had asked incredulously, undecided whether to approach the child to comfort him or not "Okay, calm down a second, what's your name, kid?"

"Je... Jeremy"

"Okay Jeremy," he knelt down, talking to the child from his height "What happened, why are you all alone here? Can you tell me?"

At that point the child had made another sonorous hiccup. "Do-do you have a tissue?"

Richie nodded slowly with his head, rummaging in the pockets of his jacket in search of the packet "Here" he said, handing it to him "Now try to answer my question"

"I...I ran away from the dinosaur" he had murmured, he had a thin voice "I took a bus to can’t being found, I won’t…" he had stopped, his eyes were big and watery "I will never go back, never again"

Richie had snorted, rubbing his hair "Okay kid, now let's go to the Central, we'll tell them what happened" he stood up, hoping that the child would do the same "Omitting the wallet thing, obviously" he added, trying to get the frightened boy to follow him. "And we'll see what to do"

Jeremy sniffled, his eyes glazed to the ground, away from him "Ok" Richie had felt bad about the tone he had uttered that word, hearing that baby surrender, as if he were bringing him to the gallows. But it was the right thing, wasn't it? He, as an adult, had a duty to bring it to the authorities and call his parents, especially if the child did not want to go home probably for an animal that was too big to frighten him or whatever was related to the term “dinosaur”. Hell, Richie just wanted the story to end, how did he get into that situation?

Yeah, how did he get there? With a 7-year-old child - almost 8! - adamant about not revealing his surname, in a train bound for the Central Department, the nearest police department that could have reached from that part of Los Angeles, and also the one to which, by law, the case had to be entrusted, having found the child in their district.

Richie really didn't know what answer to give himself, he simply looked at the time on his cell phone, thinking about what inhuman time he would have to go to bed. Perhaps it was time to take the day off, Andy would certainly have covered his shift in the following afternoon: the man gave so much air to his mouth, but in the end he loved Richie, just like his beloved Stan The Man. Hell, probably after saying it to Beverly, if he wouldn’t she’d take it personally, he would tell him, between him and Patty, at least one of them would have laughed at the story, even if for completely different reasons - Patty was not a heartless motherfucker, like her husband -.

And maybe, he found himself thinking, this could become conversation material even with his attractive apartment neighbor and friend, surely he would have appreciated his misfortunes too, his bitchiness was also why Richie was so crazy about him.

It was at that moment that, from the silence that reigned until then, Jeremy's voice came out like a ringing siren.

"Over there they sell donuts! We must go there! We must goooo! "

Richie squeezed his nasal septum between his fingers with a frustrated sigh "No."

"But I’m huuuungry! " the child complained, raising his already very acute voice. An old lady sitting not far away muttered something, clutching her smeared lips too brightly red with annoyance. Richie was very tempted to tell her aloud she was absolutely right.

"I offered you my lunch, you didn't want it. Ergo: you are not that hungry "

"But it was fake meat! A freaking vegetarian burger! "

"So" The man continued, lacing his arms to his chest, partially offended by the other's words " You're not that hungry "

"You're so ... boring!” the child barked again, Richie looked at him as he turned to look out the window with an angry gripe. Okay, now he was offended.

He? Boring? _Richie Wentworth Tozier is not boring, young man_ wants to tell him _Richie Wentworth Tozier is HI-LA-RI-OUS and he certainly does not bore you, it is his job to entertain, what the hell!_ _But what do you want to know, snotty, that you should learn to stay calm and listen to adults for once, and for goodness sake, learn to shut up!_

Only at this point in the defeat of the pride of the 7 years old child - unfortunately happened only in his head - Richie realized with horror that he was talking exactly like his parents, and like all the professors he had ever had as a child.

Dammit, Trashmouth really needed to sleep that night if he had come to talk like Maggie Tozier. A woman good as gold, without a doubt, so much so that Richie still spent Christmas with her and the old man every year, but this didn’t take away the fact that she had done her own shit when she got pregnant with her only son at just 18 years old.

Hell, he could already imagine himself tying his hair into a loose bun similar to the one his mother has done at the time - who knows if his hair was long enough to make a pigtail? At home he would certainly have controlled - watching almost desperately and mumbling almost on the verge of tears to the kid _"Why are you so weird, my darling? And yet the neighbors' daughter is so calm and gentle, what did I do wrong? She doesn't talk about aliens, slobbering monsters or rude celebrities, do I need to make you too pigtails, honey, make you put on a skirt and drink tea together? Why aren't you like little Beth, Richie? Why do you have a wang between your legs, my love? "_

The man was brought back to the present by the same child who, with a loud snort, had now stood up, fists clenched at his sides. "Now I'm going to get a donut!"

Richie looked at him very amused, grinning teeth widely "And what would be the plan, little champ? Reaching a store by jumping off the train" he said, raising his forefinger towards the other "To then pay for a cake you don't need with the money you don't have?". He raised a second finger.

The child seemed to think seriously about it for a second, taking his chin between his fingers "I could give them my jacket! Or my shoes!"

"Nobody wants your shoes, Jeremy"

"Because yours are clearly better, _honestly_ " he muttered, pointing to his -cool af, as anyone would say with a minimum of taste - moccasins.

" But what do you want to know, you are only a child "

" I am big now! " replied the other, outraged " I am a grown-ass man, I also live alone now! "

“You literally ran away from home this morning and, language, goofy"

Both, at the same time, indulged in another noisy and liberating sigh of frustration.

***

When they had finally got off the train, Richie had caught someone calling his name and he would probably have complained because, hell, what would a person want from him at a station at half-past eleven at night? But this could not have been the case, because that voice very familiar, and the speed with which his wasted face lit up was almost pathetic, just as his own limbs seemed immediately less heavy than before.

The representation of a helpless man, in fact.

"Look who I see if not my dear Eds! How is it going?" He had said, spreading his arms playfully and smiling cheerfully for the first time in the whole day.

Behind him stood a man of small stature, a beautiful smile on his face and a small suitcase in his hand. "Well, but do not call me Eds" murmured, looking down at Jeremy and smiling tenderly to him, even being returned, at least a little bit "And I see that you have company, who is your little friend? "

To those words, however, the smirk of the smaller quickly changed into a disgusted face, and immediately burst out with arrogance "I'm not a friend of those who doesn't eat real meat!" and, to confirm the concept, he took a long and decisive step to get away from the adult's legs, crowning the whole thing by the arms quickly crossed over the chest.

Eddie looked up at his friend again, the smile that now hung on his lips, though still present, had by now been crooked in a weak attempt not to laugh, which made Richie embarrassed probably more than he should. He just hoped he didn't turn red in face like a loser, he was 28 years old, for God’s sake!

"The small and _ungrateful_ plague in front of you" pointed out Richie between his teeth, receiving from the other a tongue to which, with considerable maturity, he didn’t respond to "He tried to snatch my wallet, but he did really poorly, and now we're going to the Central to see what to do, since he ran away from home"

At those words Eddie's smile faded completely; he turned pale and his gaze darted several times from his friend to the child and vice versa. "I can do something to help you... I-"

“Don't you worry your little and beautiful head, Eds" interrupted him in the bud, Richie, smiling at him again "He ran away this morning, so the parents can't be far away, can they? And even if it took all night... I took the day off for tomorrow, for the moment the important thing is to see what I have to do"

"It is not fair that you are taking me there..." the child whined, clinging to Richie's pants with tight fists and attracting his attention again "You're a bad person if you do! I've come this far! You can't bring me back to the dinosaur!"

"... Dinosaur?" Eddie asked, Richie sighed in resignation, putting his hands in his pockets " He talked about this dinosaur, that's why he doesn't want to tell me where he lives, I think it's something that scared him making him run away, I don't know anything else "

Yet Eddie didn't seem at all convinced by the words of the other. He slowly lowered himself to the height of the child, his eyes slightly more open than normal but the reassuring smile like before " What is your name? "

"Jeremy" he murmured, still attached to Richie's pants.

"Okay, listen Jeremy..." Eddie continued, under the careful observation of both presents "This dinosaur makes you very afraid? "

The child sniffled, nodding first slowly, then with more conviction. The lower man continued. "And you don't miss home?"

The kid denied with his head.

"And nobody is waiting for you there?"

There was a moment of pause before Jeremy's voice was again audible "Just her"

"Her?" Richie asked then, observing from the other the whole interaction.

"The dinosaur" the child patiently explained, raising his face towards Richie’s and then lowering it again towards Eddie, who had pointed a pleading look at Richie, who in fact nodded slowly, destabilized by the desperation he had read inside. Then he too lowered himself, taking the hand out to the child.

"Would you give us a ride home, Eds? It's still too late and Jeremy should already be sleeping."

The wide, bright smile that both Jeremy and Eddie made was priceless.

"It means that you will not take me back to the dinosaur!?" asked the child, halfway between disbelief and total wonder. Richie smiled at him "Let's say we make a deal, like real adults, okay? Now let's go home and sleep, and tomorrow, after a good breakfast, you will tell me better than this she. Are you okay with this?" He asked, still holding his hand waiting for the kid’s. Jeremy thought about it, Richie actually realized how tired the poor guy was. "Ok" he murmured with a quiet smile, taking his hand and coming back to his side.

The return journey was silent; Jeremy had fallen asleep shortly after sitting in the car, while Richie and Eddie had exchanged no more than two words, worried that they could wake him up.

Richie knew very well that Eddie's hothead would not accept a simple goodnight deal that night, and perhaps - surely - the promise to talk about it when they got home and made the child lie in bed didn’t mind. Plus, the feeling of not being buried in this complicated situation alone was pleasant.

Still hoping that the police won't find out before morning and report him for kidnapping a child.

And he just wanted that stupid promotion!

***

As soon as they got home, Richie had picked up the sleeping boy, being helped by Eddie to open the door of his apartment and put him in his bed without shoes and jacket. Eddie had complained that he didn't even brush his teeth, but he understood very well that Jeremy was reduced to a terrible state, having spent a whole day wandering alone in a city as big as Los Angeles so he could understand why he didn't. But he had promised himself to bring a new toothbrush in the morning, because he found it inconceivable not to brush his teeth, especially for a child, whose teeth were still fragile and delicate. Richie hadn't dared to even breathe, just nodding.

Then he made him sit on his modest sofa, offering him a glass of wine.

He was still trying to prepare a speech to shed light on the conversation _\- a child, from elementary school, sleeping in your room, you don't know him, you’re not sure what had happened, legally this is a kidnapping. What do you do now, Richie? -_ when Eddie had blurted out, his voice low and serious, as if all of a sudden it was impossible for him to talk.

"You can't bring him back to his house"

"Eddie …" he tried to get the other to reason, raising his hands as if inviting him to make him talk "I know what he said is not very reassuring but, listen, he is a child, we have no evidence that the mother, or whoever this “she” is, has actually done something serious "

"He run away from home, Richie!" Eddie snapped then placing the glass in anger, Richie was afraid that Jeremy had awakened, but from his bedroom not even a noise arrived " a child his age doesn’t run away very far with this conviction if there are no real reasons!"

"Eddie, don’t-"

"No! Listen to me, please" Eddie pleaded in a whimper, taking Richie’s free hand from the glass between his and bringing it to his own chest "I know you think I'm too involved in this sort of thing, but I've seen it, okay? I know how it feels to want to never go home again. And..."

Richie swallowed up, trying to find an easy fix to the situation., but it was impossible. "Rich, I ran away three times from home when I was a child"

"Eds, I don't think-"

"No, listen to me, please. I ran away three times from home, four if we count when I was 18 years old. And three times I went back to my mother's arms, not because I wanted to, but because I was too afraid of the consequences because Sonia had convinced me that she had created this place for me where, despite being unhappy, I would always be safe. At the age of 18, when she could legally do nothing to me, I managed to escape from her and waiting enough time to realize that I should have been worried about her from the beginning, instead of dreading the rest of the world."

Eddie looked at him, his big gray eyes were shiny with tears, Richie slowly put his glass of wine down, bringing his other hand to Eddie's, taking them in his and squeezing them, trying to be somehow comforting.

"Richie, I can't let a child be forced to return to the person who caused him so much fear. And I know that I don't have any concrete evidence yet that this “she” is toxic, but I saw his look and I'm sure... I'm sure…"

Richie held his breath for a second to see his friend so upset at the very idea of what might have happened to Jeremy and he couldn’t help himself anymore.

He hugged him. Not very tight, enough that if Eddie felt uncomfortable in any way, he could break away quickly, but Eddie didn't, on the contrary, he softly returned the hug, resting his forehead wearily on the other's shoulder. Richie stroked the other’s back lightly.

"Tomorrow we'll talk to Jeremy together, okay? Let's have breakfast and let's have everything told, so we'll know exactly what we're going for"

Eddie tightened the hug a little, Richie could feel his breath distinctly on his neck.

"Don't let them send him back without proper control, Rich."

"I promise, Eddie, I won't. "

When they had untied, they'd been awkward for a while, sipping the rest of the wine trying to change the subject and be able to talk freely. They discovered that it was not so easy, between the stress and the tiredness of the day, especially for Richie, that’s why Eddie had gulped down the remaining wine in one gulp, only to say that he would come back in the morning with a toothbrush and a shirt small enough to make the child change.

"I have a few shirts from when I was a child, I was older than him, but surely it would be better than walking around with something which came to his feet, or with the one he wore for almost 24 hours" he had said.

"We should go to Mike and Bev" he also proposed with a wide smile "I have nothing at home" he explained, widening his smile into a malicious grin "And I think it is appropriate to save that poor and innocent child from soy milk and the other vegan things you have in your house."

"Yeah, that’s a good- HEY!" Richie blew out, bringing both hands to his sides " First of all, rude, second, I'm vegetarian, not a vegan, so I would drink cow's milk, but I never eat breakfast at home anyway!"

Eddie had laughed loudly at his furious reaction, and Richie had to refrain from both taking his face in his hands and kiss him, or pinching his cheek playfully.

_Cute, cute, cute._

His Eds was wonderful.

"So bye" Eddie had said, clueless to Richie’s internal war, moving away from the door with his cheeks slightly flushed and his briefcase in one hand "Goodnight, Richie"

"Good... night, Eds"

"Don't call me that" he whispered before closing the door of his apartment behind him.

Richie had been watching it for a few seconds before closing his own as if he wanted Eddie to come back to his door.

And, in the end, he knew well enough it was like that.


	2. Brian Dooodledoo knew well enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie awakes, there come troubles and then Bev and Mike make an entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY I'm like the latest thing on the planet but, in my defense, I was planning a longer chapter with more stuff going on but it's too much for a single chapter so...uh- We all have to wait a little longer for seeing the ACTUAL plot. Funny because I already know what will be going on in the next chapter and....ugh, appreciate the calm because is... ephemeral
> 
> ..lol

Richie had been awakened by shoving. Or rather, he had been awakened when those shoves had become so strong and determined that he rolled off the couch on which he was sleeping.

The first thought of the man, not yet fully awake, went to his back, wondering with curiosity if the pain he felt was caused by having slept in the living room in too small a space or by the fact that it was tumbled to the ground.

The second thought, however, went to his head, because he was sure he was hearing a dull sound that was piercing his ears and he really couldn't understand what was happening: his house was never so noisy, at least when he was alone.

Then a light bulb lit up in Richie's head, and he looked around until Jeremy was found behind him, looking at him with an angry pucker, rubbing his eye with his hand. Only at the sight of the child, the man did finally remember the amount of shit he was in.

"The alarm doesn’t stop ringing, it's seven in the morning, old man. Make it stop." he muttered between his teeth, handing the battery-powered alarm, still ringing, into the other's hands.

Oh, well, at least now he knew what he was drilling his eardrums. One problem less.

When Richie turned it off with a simple keystroke, he saw the shoulders of the smallest relax. Then he stood there, still rubbing his eye with his hand, standing next to Richie, even now sitting on the ground.

"Sorry,  _ brat _ , I forgot to turn off the alarm last night, I don't often skip work on ferial days."

"Ferial?" He didn't even twitch at the nickname.

"Days of not vacation" was his dry explanation, but it seemed to be enough for the child, who just nodded, convinced.

Richie smiled at him.

"You seem recorded, did you sleep enough?"

The adult internally hoped that this was not the case: once he could sleep late he wanted to stay in bed - on the couch, given the situation - at least until 9 am, take a normal breakfast at the bar and THEN fix this situation. But the child had other plans, unfortunately.

"By now I can't get back to sleep" he grumbled, and indeed he seemed to have grown accustomed to the light and to standing upright. Now the problem was only with Richie, who put his forehead on the sofa cushion, hoping to find himself magically refreshed by its softness.

"Old man" interrupted his important ritual Jeremy "I'm hungry"

“Hi Hungry, I’m only 28, stop calling me old or  _ starve. _ ”

Richie looked at him, sighing: it was normal, the night before, when they were still on the train, Jeremy had given up looking for his “eatable parts” in his sandwiches, as he said, leaving behind salad, tomatoes, and the vegan ham, throwing down only two small mayonnaise sandwiches, so not the best for a dinner. Richie decided he should get him a proper breakfast, and what could be better than Mike's pancakes? Nothing, absolutely nothing in the world exceeded them.

"You’re right. Okay, I'm calling Eddie, so he comes to us with a toothbrush for you and maybe a clean t-shirt"

At these words, Jeremy looked around in confusion "Why Eddie did not sleep here?"

Listening to him, Richie became a flash reddish in the face, turning his head in his direction and gurgling everything together quickly "Andwhywouldhehadto?"

"If he had to come back in the morning" explained his reasoning Jeremy. Richie cleared his throat, already dreaming of an alternative life in which he woke up next to Eddie, having breakfast at his kitchen table and talking about this and that, kissing on the door before going to work.

Too much? Those who thought so are dipshits who had never known the extraordinary and unique Eddie Kaspbrak, it was obvious.

Richie took his cell phone from the table, mentally taunting himself for having forgotten to charge it the previous evening, and without further delay looked for Eddie in the contacts.

Eddie's number was washed out among the "most frequent" of Richie, mostly because Richie always sends at least three memes during lunch break, being continually answered by calls in which he was insulted and, on good days, later also from meme that he was certain Eddie had looked for only for him, not being the type to stay online long.

Eddie was more of a  _ real  _ type of person, honestly, those who want to experience their adventures firsthand, and, perhaps, even for this reason he had fallen behind the world of social media, but it had never seemed to matter to him and, frankly, Richie found his nature unique.

The man often wondered, actually, if it was his mother why Eddie had decided to try all the sports possible over the years, to try to do more than one job at a time, to love going around restaurants to try specialties from around the world, and all the things in the years he had known him he did.

He had even thought of asking him: although his heart throbbed so hard when they were together, the two had known each other for so long, they had a bond, they were not mere acquaintances - _ God, Richie would probably have died instantly if it turned out that Eddie saw him as a fellow associate _ \- but he had convinced himself that it was not worth it. Even if it was? Even if it was the hatred of the mother that had pushed him? That was Eddie anyway, and Eddie loved to experiment, he loved to discover, to live. Whether that woman was complicit or not it didn't matter, Eddie was wonderful anyway, and of that Richie was certain.

After only two rings, Eddie answered the phone with a "Yes?" Drawled "Rich, I thought you would call me later, at least until the kid woke up"

Richie didn't even have time to answer that the other continued "Oh shit, he's already awake, isn't he? But what are children fed with these days? Why don't they sleep?"

Richie giggled to hear him "Yeah, Jeremy is already on his feet, perky and hungry, do you want to go to the bar earlier?"

There was a second of silence, then a slight thud "I already have Jeremy’s toothbrush in hand. And also a clean change. I'll give them to you so I can come back and take a quick shower, okay?"

Richie agreed and a few moments later he heard a knock on the door, finding a smiling Eddie with ruffled hair and still dressed in his pajamas, he had a paper bag in his hand "I’ve found two shirts! And a pair of shorts!"

"Of course you did" Richie murmured, smiling back at him, not noticing the dull expression he had assumed, the same one that inadvertently made the other's knees tremble. And only a thought swirled, loud and noisy, in his head, now as many times before, maybe even months:  _ Ask me the fuck out, damn you! _

It was Jeremy who broke the moment, watching the newcomer's clothing with curiosity "How did you get so little up?"

Eddie stopped staring at Richie, looking down at the kid. He pointed behind him, towards the corridor "I live in the apartment next door"

"Oh," he said, "So that's why you didn't stay here tonight"

"Yeah..." Eddie chuckled, then hardening his voice and shooting a short but intense fiery glance towards Richie, who absolutely saw it, turning pale in confusion "For that."  _ and also because he didn't invite me to stay for the night, cause’s a dipshit.  _

But that wasn't the case to say it out loud, Eddie thought, what was the point in having waited so long for a date, if he had to organize it himself? It was out of the question. Richie had started the flirt, Richie would have completed the work. Whatever it takes.

***

When Eddie had returned to apartment 315 - Richie’s - he found no one to welcome him, on the contrary, he had instead found himself in front of a door ajar, and the silence that seemed to reign supreme throughout the residence.

A voice, almost whispering, managed to make itself heard, faint and shrill, far away but always too close, so much so that fast and cold shivers ran down Eddie's back, who was forced to calm down and remember that it wasn't real, that it wasn’t  _ her. _

_ Do not get close to the houses left open, Eddie dear, do not do it, or you will be attacked by very bad people who surely have hidden inside. _

"Shut up, Ma" he muttered mechanically and, for a quick and rather shameful moment, Eddie was glad to be alone in the room, happy at least not to have been heard talking to himself; then he actually remembered that this was not his home and that  _ he shouldn’t have been  _ alone at the moment. So he decided to cross the threshold of the house, looking for his friend and the child.

He didn't even have time to close the door behind him that he heard fast footsteps in the little corridor that led to Richie's room and he was already on alert, ready to hit any thief who had entered his neighbor's home, when from the corridor came out none other than a Jeremy in his underwear.

"Old man, your friend is back!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, and Eddie suddenly felt less agitated and lighter, knowing that all his fantasies were nothing but those. As usual.

"Ah," the boy continued, getting closer to the adult and pulling the shorts he held tightly in one hand over his head, the ones Eddie had brought for him just before "These pants suck and I'll never wear them"

"They were my favorite as a child" Eddie said only, not much offended, looking at the little red shorts the boy was holding.

"And of courfe they were awefome on ya, Edf" Richie said, also appearing from the corridor with the toothbrush still in his mouth. "Like any other thing, honeftly"

"First: Don't call me that, you know I hate it. Second: gross, I was like twelve, maybe even eleven at the time"

"And the twelve-year-old me would have gone crazy, fugah" the other grinned, returning to the bathroom before being studded with jabs from the other.

"And anyway you forgot the door open, don't you know it's dangerous with a small child in the house, you, irresponsible?!" he raised his voice, Eddie, red on the slightly plump cheeks for the inappropriate comments of the not-so-platonic-friend, wanting to be sure of being heard clearly.

The answer was only a chuckle that made his eyebrows raise even more.

"Put the pants on," he then said to the kid "let's go eat with some friends"

"Didn't we go to a bar?" Jeremy grumbled, looking irritably at the shorts he still had in his hand.

"Exactly"

***

Richie's favorite bar was about 5 minutes from his apartment, immediately after crossing 4180 Wilshire Blvd and turned left. It was a small bar, fairly well known in the area, with delicate polenta-yellow walls and large windows, which gave the room an almost perennial brightness.

He had found him the second day he moved to Los Angeles and had become immediately friend with the co-owner, ending up being there every morning for the next 5 years.

But that was also the place where he had managed to break the ice for the first time with Eddie, since their first real encounter had happened on the stairs the same day he moved, where his new neighbor had inadvertently made him dropping out a box full of dishes, to which only 4 had been saved, the only ones Richie had had for almost a year.

Eddie had never forgiven himself, but the newcomer had never allowed him to buy them back, which is why, when Richie had mentioned his birthday for the first time, he had found a package with a full set in front of the door of brand new dishes.

Needless to say, Richie kept the plates - and the orderly and short greeting card - like a treasure, finding himself every time he used them to dream the time when he would have the courage to invite Eddie to dinner with him and use them together.

Derry was run by two people, both equally extraordinary albeit almost opposite in all, as anyone who had the pleasure of knowing them both would say: Beverly Marsh and Mike Hanlon.

Beverly was the only one on duty that summer morning, when Richie had met her, and a spark was immediately made between the two, just not the one they both expected.

Richie had never denied having found his Bev attractive right away, with her always-there ponytail, gradually climbing up to the pixie cut she was now wearing, and her big, radiant smile; not to mention the abundant bra size because, in the end, Richie was still a humble human being. And even Beverly had admitted to finding him physically attractive.

The point, therefore, was not that they had not found themselves attracted to each other as soon as they met, but that at the end of their first date, which had gone very well by the way, no one thought of kissing the other, ending the evening with a hug and exchange of mobile numbers.

They had swirled around each other for a whole week, officially going out, chatting and sometimes also kissing with the same questions always in mind:  _ are we going out together? I WANT us to go out together? _

In the end, they decided it was better to stop trying and remain only friends and, under the judgment of both, it had been the best decision ever made because they were now inseparable, and they would not have been able to survive one without the other.

Mike was a little older than Richie, although he looked barely twenty with his handsome, fresh face, Richie had met him the day after Bev and their first speeches had always been about her. As Richie had discovered in a short time, Mike was very protective of his friend, almost as if she was his younger sister and he had the task of keeping her safe from the wrong choices, which apparently at that time included a relationship with Richie.

That's why the two men had found themselves from the slight bickering about the fact that Mike was not very inclined to leave Beverly the task of serving him every morning, to having a cheerful sister in common. When it comes to relational improvements.

Mike was a very kind and quiet man, even when he was competing against Richie, he had never behaved badly and Richie was sure he had never heard him raise his voice. He loved his bar, just like Beverly, and in five years he had found out he was a great friend, one of those who has the perennial happiness that infects you.

At least ... almost perennial.

There had been a time when Richie had watched him helplessly break, and it had happened four years before, when Richie had taken his childhood friend to try Derry’s and Mike had completely lost his mind for him. But it had been difficult to notice, almost impossible, so Mike had never blamed Richie for not having warned him in time of the danger he was going against.

They had become friends so fast that it seemed written in destiny; Stan Uris was a quiet and charming man, he loved being outdoors and he had that bizarre but interesting hobby of watching birds when he had free time and, under that impassive piece of shit attitude, Mike had discovered one of the sweetest and most caring people that he had ever met in his life. It had been so easy to fall in love with him.

And that feeling had grown silent and invisible to everyone for two whole months, until Stan himself had revealed to him with his eyes full of love and joy, unaware like everyone else, of his official engagement with his beloved girlfriend.

The future bride that Mike didn’t realize was so important to him because he had barely talked about her, quite as he has always been.

It was terrible. The man had sworn, crouched like a wounded animal in Beverly's arms that he hadn't felt so bad since his father's slow and grueling destruction from cancer, and it took weeks for him to look Stan in the face without hearing the chest fold back on itself.

Richie never forgave himself, and no one ever had the heart to explain to Stan what had happened in those weeks, pulling out a mild excuse that the blond let slipped on him, slightly wounded that none of his friends wanted to make him participate. Not even Richie was allowed to tell him nothing, Mike had begged him with tears in his eyes to keep him out of the situation, and after all he owed it to him after what he had put him through.

In the end it was all over, Stan got married, Patty Blum changed his surname and even Mike managed to settle in a stable relationship, although sometimes the smile disappeared from his face to hear someone mention the sweet “Patty Uris”.

But he was happy, he had once told Bev, Richie and Eddie, when they were all drunk, he no longer thought of Stan like that, Adam made him happy, he even gave him a dog when they started to live together and he named it Mr. Chips in honor of his old childhood dog, he was happy with what he had, and also tired of thinking of all the What ifs that could never be realized. It was that same evening that things seemed to start going for the better again.

***

When they had crossed the threshold of the bar, Jeremy watched as a beautiful girl with red and fluffy hair made a toothy smile, looking at something over her shoulder, presumably the adults behind him. Richie, in fact, exclaimed, raising his voice as usual and overcoming both Jeremy and Eddie to head towards her "Bevvie dear! Don't you come to greet your favorite person? It seems years that we don't hear each other!"

The beautiful girl -Bevvie dear- had come out from behind the counter before approaching him and stating "What are you talking about that I spent the most peaceful day of my entire existence, Trashmouth!"

For a moment, Jeremy thought they were going to kiss, but then Bevvie dear, from the bottom of her height -she was  _ even  _ smaller than Eddie, the boy noticed - put her hand behind Richie's neck, taking his head down and starting to press the knuckles between the bristly hair of the other. "Bev!  _ Bevvidiboo! _ You're hurting me like hell, cut loose a little!"

_ Okay, the two probably weren't together. _

At the counter there was also another man with dark skin and a very kind face, and he was the first to notice him among the adults -if they could be considered so the two individuals who were still squabbling and the one that, at a safe distance, urged Bev to increase her strength.

"While Baby 1 and 2 keep bickering," Mike continued, glancing quickly at Richie and Beverly, before turning to his other friend that now was listening to him "Is there anything I can do for the new buddy over there?"

Eddie smiled, nodding and gently touching the child's shoulder, inviting him to follow him. At that moment Jeremy was lost in his thoughts, intent on observing all the walls of the room, scattered with photographs and notes left by customers over the years, thinking that it would be nice to make one of his own, and so he didn't react. He then found himself surprised when, seemingly out of nowhere, he felt a hand resting on his hair.

Looking up, Richie was looking at him worried "Hey, is something wrong?"

Jeremy denied his head in reply, unable to hide a smile that, although disoriented, the adult gladly returned. At that moment, as he followed the two adults to a free table, the child could think of nothing but Mr. Doodledoo from “  _ A spaceful family _ ”, the program he saw on television every afternoon.

And what was asked was if this was what Brian, Mr. Doodledoo's son, had felt when he won the youth championship and his father had stroked his head just like that. What he wondered sitting at the table, watching in silence while Richie still quarreled with Bevvie dear, was:  _ is that how it feels to have a dad? _


	3. Derry's Great Great ricotta pastries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you know, like, everything you know about how the american laws work?  
> Great, forget it. I have NO IDEA how it really works, I TRIED but is really difficult when you live in another county. Have mercy pls

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Bev's ricotta pastries are better, no doubt"

Richie assumed a wounded mug as if the affirmation of the other had stung him deeply. "The ricotta brioche can't even compete with Mike's pancakes, it's out of the question" 

"No, I object, Mike, I love you deeply and you know it, but you too have to agree that the brioche are inexorably superior" 

"Not try to put him in the middle, coward! Mike is too good, he would give you reason just to make that little bitch happy!" Richie objected again, watching as the above-mentioned redhead brought his chair closer to Eddie's. 

"My friendship with Richie is over, now Eddie is the love of my life" she said, embracing the man beside him with one arm and leaving him a kiss on the cheek, which she also blew with a resounding and deaf MWAH.

"Why does everyone have the habit of kissing my cheeks?" Eddie asked, placing his head on the woman's shoulder anyway and letting her fingers pass through his soft curled hair. 

To this question without the need for an answer, Eddie obtained two, almost simultaneously. 

"I couldn't have given it to you anywhere else, I know who is the one you want to suck face with, honey" the redhead whispered in his ear. Eddie hid his face in her neck, worried that the present might notice the sudden blush on his face "Bev... " he murmured, making his friend laugh loudly. 

Meanwhile, Richie, unaware protagonist of the conversation, had not missed the opportunity, raising his voice and saying playfully, in a miserable Spanish accent "Pourqué tu eres the mas cutìsimo hombre that anyone has ever seen, my love! ...what are you talking about without including me, amigos?” Richie was now looking at them with a frown, not really feeling jealousy, -it was just Bev after all, the Losers always behaved like this between each other- but much alike a light but a weary spark of envy for not being the one to have lightened Eddie's face up as an inviting flame. But it was a feeling which he often fought within recent times. 

"It's not your problem, cowboy," Bev said, winking at him and jumping off the chair. "what do you want to order in the end?" 

"A ricotta pastry!"   
"Mike's pancakes!"

After a second of silence, three pairs of eyes rested on the small figure sitting silently at the head of the table, the one that until then had stood still in his place, trying to remember if he had ever seen anyone behave like these people in one of his cartoons. 

Jeremy suddenly blanched, feeling like he was in a minefield, watching the two adults sitting at the table looking at him adoringly. Looking at Richie, however, he felt those butterflies in his stomach for the second time, and the image of Mr. Doodledoo became clear in his mind again. 

"I'll take the pancakes too... if it's okay" he piped out then, looking almost excited as the man's smile widened into a victorious grin, followed by the same scene as before: Richie put his open hand on the kid's head, ruffling his hair "You will not regret it, young man! You are about to taste the best thing on Earth" he said, with a weird accent that Eddie wondered if it should recall a pirate or an Italian - an Italian pirate, maybe? But pancakes were not Italian food- "And don't even try to open your mouth, Eds, you lost!" He continued, raising his eyebrows at the other man. 

"I'll give him a taste of it anyway when it gets to me, so he realizes his mistake," Eddie shrugged his shoulders, raising his eyes to the sky "And don't call me Eds, Trashmouth, you know I hate it"  
"Accept defeat, loser!"   
"Or what? Are you afraid he might change his mind, Rich?"   
"Never!"

While the two were still bickering, their little friend was watching them more and more confused. 

"If you two fight, I have to stay with Richie?" He asked at one point, receiving in response bulging eyes from both adults. 

"What" Richie just asked; it was at that moment that Beverly arrived at the table with the trays, a second was enough to understand and quickly put the saucers at the table "If you need help, call us" he said before leaving again, worried about his friends. 

Eddie shook his head vigorously "We're not fighting" he tried to explain "We're just kidding, we two are friends, we often do that, we sometimes just… y’know... bicker " 

Jeremy looked extremely confused "But doesn’t this make you..." he waited a moment to continue, raising his eyes at the roof, it seemed he was trying to remember something "Irre-concil-able?" 

To the awkward silence of the other two, Jeremy decided to explain himself better "Because if you are irre-concil-able, then a person has to keep the baby even if she doesn't want it, and since he saw me first, I think it's like he’s the mom, right?" 

Richie was looking at him, completely shocked by his words, he managed to compose himself only when he heard the sound of a chair. Turning to Eddie, he found him squatting again next to Jeremy's chair, took his hand in his, trembled.  
"Did your mother tell you these things?" His voice trembled too, Richie wondered if he was on the verge of tears and, in the end, he clearly understood the reason: the situation in which they were now was quite clear. 

"She's the one who taught me, yes," he said, still confused "she said it's important to know right away "how the world goes", so she always says so and-" 

"Jeremy..." Richie interrupted. "That's not how it works." 

"But she said-"  
"What she said’s bullshit."   
"Eddie!" the other scolded him. Perhaps this was not the correct way to explain such a situation to a second-graded. 

"No! People always try to cover things for children, to sweeten it for them, but sometimes you simply can't, what he said, my God, what she said to him is not good, it’s fucked up!" 

"Did he say anything else to you? Did he ever tell you anything else wrong?" He continued  
"Eds c’mon..."   
"Did she ever do anything to you? Had she ever tried to-"   
"Eddie-"   
"Please tell me, tell me, Jeremy!"   
"EDDIE!" Richie grabbed him firmly by the shoulder and pushed him back. -when he got up from his chair? - 

"What?!" he blurted, with both hands on the ground, stopping when he realized that Richie was looking at him severely, like never before. 

"Maybe you should go and talk to Bev and Mike for a second, to clear your head." 

Eddie whirled back to the child, looking with dismay at the big, tear-glared eyes.

It was his fault.

"Jeremy, I..." but Richie's hand weighed on his shoulder like the heaviest mountain. He rose to his feet, silent in his discomfort "Forgive me, both of you" he looked up at the child for a moment, lowering him back to the ground when he was unable to look at his face. 

"Especially you, Jeremy"   
And said that he walked away, feeling like the worst person in the world. 

When Eddie's figure disappeared into the staff room, Richie convinced himself to look down at the child, who was now groping for air among the silent sobs. As gently as possible he lifted him from his chair, taking him in his arms and sitting down, the crying little boy crouched on his legs. It was almost automatic for Jeremy to tie his hands to the man's neck and let him tighten. 

It was so strange to be kept like this, Jeremy was sure he had never felt anything like it before.

"I thought he liked me," he murmured then, at the thought of Eddie's angry face new tears began to come out. He huddled closer to the adult "He was so kind to me. I thought he was kind"

"He is, Jeremy, Eddie just can't... manage the situation as he would like, but it's not his fault, nor yours, you didn't do anything wrong, okay?" 

"So whose fault is it?" 

Richie stopped a second, thinking about what to do, but decided that telling the truth would be a good starting point, at least for the moment. 

"Look... Eddie's mother wasn't a nice person either"

Jeremy jerked back, surprised, "Really? So it's a normal thing?" 

"Oh, no, no. Absolutely not." He took care to make clear. "Parents must love their children, and to treat them for the better, do you understand? To take care of them and look after them, to make them grow up happy" 

It wasn't exactly true, his parents hadn't kept up with all the points on this list, but they weren't bad people, as Richie learned with time, they were only... bad at parenting. There was a difference, but this was the best explanation that Richie could give, and probably the one the child needed to believe at the moment. 

"And Eddie's mother was none of this, she was bad, she told him lots of lies, she made him believe that... well... he had to be alone with her, yeah, we can say so. And it took a lot of time for Eddie to realize that it wasn't like that, so when he ran away-"  
"He ran away too?!" _...Fuck, well done, Tozier._

"Yes, he did too, but he was much bigger compared to you, he was 18"   
The expression of wonder that the child had assumed just before fell a little, frowned in confusion "And why wait so long?!"   
"Because he was afraid, Jeremy. He was afraid of so many things, including that the authorities would return him to his mother." 

Jeremy hadn't responded immediately, he'd looked down, imagining his mother's figure, imagining what would happen if someone else found him. He felt his eyes pinch. 

Then Richie stroked his hair again, smiling widely. "Could they bring me back to her, the au-tho-rities?" The child asked in a faint voice, wiping his tears suddenly conscious of his own continuous whining. _You're big enough now, don't cry._

Richie's smile faded "I don't know, chap. To know it you have to give me more information. Like your surname, where you lived, with whom you lived and if what you said happened once or if there was something else. Do you think you can do it?" 

Jeremy sniffed, then nodded firmly. If this would have allowed him to never see her again, he would have told everything. It started with the simplest thing.

"It’s Jeffords."

"Jeremy Jeffords, eh?" Richie grinned, making the kid laugh too "So you're Jay-jay, uh? Double-J maybe?"

"No, please no, I hate that" the boy complained, even though the broad smile on his face was evident.

This kid... he reminds me so much of Eddie. Richie smiled softly before remembering why the man wasn't there with them.

"Go ahead, can you?" He asked then, his voice had grown hoarse. Jeremy took a deep breath, suppressing the last laughs, then he became more serious too.

"I don't remember the address, but I know it was a white house... in Monrovia, does it help?"

Richie smiled at him and nodded, Jeremy continued "I lived alone with... her, but in reality I stayed in school most of the time helping the little ones because if you help them with their homework they make you eat with them and participate in their activities. It's pretty boring, but I thought it would be better than staying home alone. Because mom works all afternoon and comes home very angry at night and always wants to see a stupid TV series super boring. And then... and then ... "

Until that moment he had gestured, to make the adult better understand the gravity of some things, now he had dropped his arms to the sides as if he had suddenly lost all the strength he had in body. Even the smile fell into a pained expression.

"Then he threw me a broom" he muttered,  
"She did WHAT?!" The other snapped angrily.   
"I tripped her because I forgot my homework on the living room floor. But I didn't mean to make her fall!" The child tried to defend himself, suddenly frightened that Richie could have been mad at him "She hurt herself and was very angry and so she took the broom and threw it at me! I didn't do it on purpose, I swear!"

"Hey, wait." Richie caresses the child’s cheek gently " I'm not mad at you, okay? I am angry with her, very angry. She hit you, did she hurt you?"

Jeremy denied, feeling slightly better."I dodged her. But then I locked myself in the room and she didn't want to leave, so I packed my backpack and ... and in the morning, when she went to work, I left. But the money I took ran out almost immediately!"

"I think that's enough" said Richie, watching as the kid started to tremble slightly again "Eat your pancakes, they are much better hot, now us adults will take care of this, okay? You have been very good"

The child nodded happily, grabbing his fork and starting to cut a slice. Before putting it in his mouth, however, he watched it for a few seconds, then turned to look at Richie "Promise me that I will never go home to her again? Can you?"

"Yes," he whispered, with a softened tone than he bargained for "Certainly Jeremy, a deal is a deal, right?"

"Just like adults"

"Exactly" 

***

"He hates me, no, they both do, and I deserve it!" muttered Eddie in his self-pity, covering his face with both hands. He was sitting on a stool in the staff area, Mike sitting beside him, watching him with a small smile, genuinely worried about his friend.

"I'm sure it's not like that, Eddie" "But it should be! I have... Jesus, you didn't see his face, Mike, I was traumatizing him without even realizing it! And I've probably made things three times more difficult for Richie. Here's what happens if I try to help, if it weren't for me this wouldn't be happening, the authorities would have thought of it and... and... and I don't know. All right!?"

Eddie felt like he was about to face an implosion, and maybe that was what he deserved. Yeah, he could already see himself, shrink more and more, the walls of his body move back and back until there was only a small ball of material that someone could have hidden, or perhaps buried.

Would Mike does it if he asked? Get rid of his damn little ball? At what stage of friendship it should arrive to ask a person to get rid of their imploded matter and be listened to?

With the look that Richie had given him, he would probably have done it willingly. Otherwise there was also Bev, or Ben, who was so kind to everyone. Bill would probably have taken pity on him and would have been ready to eat it in one bite, too bad it was now in Europe for his Honeymoon with Audra. Yeah, really a pity, a wasted opportunity indeed.

It had taken Mike a good ten minutes to get it open, to explain what had happened to the table with Richie, and now that the cork had been removed, Eddie seemed unable to stop. So much was his discomfort in his monologues, that he didn't notice the door opening, nor Mike's smile in seeing the two figures make their way into the room.

Eddie stopped his sea of words only when a hand stopped on his shoulder, exactly as before, only in a completely different way. He was tense under that gentle touch, and he didn't dare turn to look at the other man, even though he knew he was there behind his back, and that he had probably heard at least part of his melodramatic speech. 

Then a plate was brought closer to his face, no, not a random plate, the plate with its croissant inside it -a piece of his brioche as a matter of fact-, the one he had ordered but hadn't eaten because he had just been sent away from the table.

Turning around, finding himself in front of Jeremy, still with his hands raised to offer him the plate, Eddie took it with shaking hands.

"What does it mean im... implosion?" He asked curiously

"It's like an explosion, but on the contrary, one thing shrinks to become almost invisible" explained Richie, somewhat amused by his friend's imagination, who now not dared look at him for real, completely red in the face "And frankly I'm not entirely sure that Big Bill is ready to gulp down a small version of you, Eds"  
"Bleah" allowed himself to add Jeremy, before completely losing interest in that conversation and returning to the dish he still offered. 

"I ate half of it," the child murmured, suddenly feeling a little guilty for it "I liked it very much. I didn't know you could put the cheese in the cakes."

Eddie looked at him for a moment, still embarrassed, then smiled. "I'm glad you liked it, you know, I found out you could do it thanks to the cheesecake.

"Jeremy's eyes seemed to bulge "A cake with cheese?" He asked in amazement

"Yeah" Eddie continued, his voice was still hoarse "And then you can also add chocolate or the jam you prefer most. Endless possibilities."

Jeremy grinned and, as far as the situation seemed to have improved, the silence that fell was extremely embarrassing, even managing to be perceived by Mike who, observing now how Richie sought Eddie's gaze, decided to intervene.

"Hey, buddy" he said, getting the child's attention. "I saw you watching the tickets hanging on the walls early, do you want to leave yours too? You can write about cheese pastries"

"Yes!" Stated Jeremy, following the man out of the room, while this winked at Richie, a clear signal that said Now the floor is yours, talk together 

Mike Hanlon was, as usual, the best person in the universe.

But when the door closed behind them, what fell was yet another awkward silence. Eddie stood up, finally looking at the other in the eyes. His eyes were blank, visibly tense, as his shoulders, like the voice when he opened his mouth.

"Do you want me to go?"

Richie's eyes widened, taking a step toward him, but stopping, feeling uncertain "Do you want to leave?" He asked instead, Eddie shrugged his shoulders, but he forced himself not to look down. "Does it matter what I want? Now we have to take interest in that child’s well being and, _clearly_ , I’m not a person who can help him, you haven't seen- "

"Eds" interrupted the other, taking the steps that still separated them and his hands between his own "You were right about his mother, she tried to hurt him, Eddie, she... she threw a broom at him, and missed of course, but that does not change the fact that-"

"A broom ?!"

"I KNOW! The thing is terrible and that's why I don't want you to leave!"

Eddie looked at his face "But..." his voice trembled, he denied his head a couple of times "He told you what you needed to know, Rich, you did very well while I... I only made things worse. He doesn't need me, as you can-"

"But I do," Richie affirmed, tightening his grip on his hands slightly, Eddie felt the chills run down his entire back and watched as the man moved slightly closer. "Now I'll have to take him to the Central, and I don't know if it's better to say that I found him last night or now, I don't know if a child's word will be enough to testify against an abuse, I hope so, but I don't know, no I really have NO idea. Last night I tried to search online, but there are so few previous ones that I found almost nothing- did you know there were more sites to explain how to run away from home than there are on what to do if you find an unaccompanied child? And, well, what the hell!"

He paused for a second and Eddie swore he saw his eyes dart for a second lower than his eyes. "What I'm trying to say is that I need you, Eds, I can’t and I don't want to face this thing alone, the truth is that I... I..."

Now Eddie was sure Richie's gaze was focused on something other than his eyes, and he held his breath when Richie left his hands, for place one on his side.

Imperceptibly they were already closer, enough that Eddie had to raise his chin to look at his friend in the eye and it was good, being so close to him was really nice, and Richie had big, dark eyes and Eddie only knew that those eyes weren't looking at him in return, but they were focused on his lips and Eddie wanted him even closer, he wanted to cancel the distances and give him the kiss he should have given him immediately on that damn stairs 5 years ago.

"Richie..." he murmured, placing a hand on his cheek, and their faces were close enough that it would have been enough that step, a paltry step to nullify every distance, probably the first of an infinite number of times.

And Eddie could have done it, yes, Richie would have appreciated, right?

...Right?

But what would have happened if it hadn't been like he said? Like he hoped? What if he had misread the messages all that damn time? Richie could still want to be his friend, could Eddie live with such a refusal after 5 long years of fantasy?

Eddie thought best to walk away, but he noticed with horror that Richie had also noticed the sudden emotional change, because his expression collapsed, like the grip on his side, only his eyes, now, no longer dared to lower, but stared straight at him.

It was at this moment that the door opened and Beverly made an appearance, she had a broad grin on her face

"You should come and see the drawing Jeremy made, he has- I'm interrupting something?"

"No!"

Richie, who when the door opened turned to look at the newcomer, looked back at his friend, not entirely surprised to find him now at a safe distance from him.

At a distance that could not be compromising, he thought to himself, but quickly put aside the thought for healthy self-respect.

And at that moment, one of those misunderstandings that are often seen in the movies and books happened. One of those situations that seem absurd but that in reality probably also happens in real life, only that a person is not able to change and pass to the point of view of another. It would all be easier if it could be done in real life.

But Richie thought he understood everything about the situation, he thought he had read the signals correctly and so he spoke, a hoarse and dejected voice, sure that Eddie would understand what he really meant.

"Do you still want to accompany me with Jeremy?" Which did Richie want to mean Do you still want to continue to help me and be my friend, even though you didn't exchange my obvious feelings for you?

Too bad Eddie had caught his own interpretation of those words, and more than what Richie had thought, they were translated into his head more like a: you still want to have something to do with me and Jeremy, even if it's clear that you have misinterpreted my actions, and could it be embarrassing for both of us?

And so Eddie, feeling also a terrible and selfish person, nodded slightly "Yes… if that's okay for you"

Richie smiled sadly, putting his hands in his pockets "Okay then... cool" And having said that he dragged himself out of the room, passing Beverly deliberately without meeting her gaze.

"What the fuck happened?" The woman asked in confusion, looking from Richie's back to Eddie's face, who for a second seemed to contract into a pained grimace, but appeared as quickly as it took to disappear. Eddie looked at her, slightly pale in the face, with the look of disbelief of an abandoned puppy.

"I think I just messed it all up, Bev."

"Dammit." she muttered when Eddie passed her without another word.

***

"So you’re telling me that you found a child who had run away from home last night, you took him home, made him sleep in your house, you made him have breakfast, and just now, at 9:30 am, you came to tell the police about it? ”

Richie and Eddie, standing like two statues of salt, at the same moment took on the same embarrassed smile.

"Yes, well," Richie murmured. "It was late... I thought it was better for him to go through all the bureaucratic matters after a good sleep, and then-" Eddie hit him with an elbow in the side, before smiling again and continuing "What my friend meant to say, it's that we didn't know what we should do, and it was late and, please, tell us they won't stop us for kidnapping"

The young woman at the desk slapped her hand in her face, then proceeded to write something on the computer, before affirming "You are very lucky that none of the missing children coincide with your profile" he murmured, then opening into a small smile, like the Cheshire cat’s one, keeping his eyes on the PC screen "And that the short one of you two is particularly cute"

Richie stifled a laugh as Eddie brought both hands to his face, hiding from the embarrassment of the situation. How could that woman say certain things and still be more professional than the two of them?

"Wait, _children_? Exactly how many missing children are there right now?" Richie asked, slightly worried

"There are on average three a day all over Los Angeles, give or take"

"... What"

"Okay," the woman continued "We will say that you had no way to reach a station; combined with the fact that it was late for the child and that you are both under thirty, this could help you not look like criminals, but only as two uniformed guys. You can wait in the dining room with the kid now, I'll call a foster house, which will hold the kid until we find the mother and, if necessary, foster parents"

"Oh, thank you-" "Wait wait?"

Richie was watching the woman with sudden fear "Are there no other possibilities while you are looking for that woman? They are- I'm not saying foster houses are bad, but I saw how Jeremy is made, he... he is facing serious problems and continuing to let him meet new people... it is already a miracle that he has opened with us, I’m just say-"

"Mr. Tozier" the woman interrupted him, slightly annoyed by this new twist "I'm sure the police know how to handle delicate situations like these, and that the fosters will be just fine for the child, how it went well for everyone else before him. I'm sure it's not some calamity"

"But he is! He... listen, I promised him he would never see his mother again, that I wouldn't leave him alone until I was sure he was safe, I said what that woman did and said, and now I can't-"

"And it was reckless of you to make such visionary promises to a child in a similar situation. But I think that this is also due to majority disinformation."

Richie watched, he felt his lungs lacking air, tight in his chest. Eddie looked at him in confusion, not sure what exactly his friend was trying to do.

"I can't, I don't know, continue to keep him until you know for certain that his mother isn't fit?"

"What?" They both asked. Except that if Eddie's tone was low and genuinely confused, the woman's was taller, even more annoyed and probably surprised

"The children aren't some hot balls you play for a little while and then to be passed, Mr. Tozier," she told him, taking her hands off the keys and finally turning his full attention to it "I can't just leave an elementary child in the house of someone who is legally a stranger"

"I know, I’m not playing around" said Richie, and he suddenly appeared more confident, more serious, more adult "I know very well what I'm going to meet, believe me, I'm not that naive. I am sure there is something else that can be done, there must be. I don't want him to think that every adult he meets will lie to him"

The woman looked at him in the face, as if resentful "...please" Richie added, not letting his eyes fall. She sighed, dropping her head to the side in a tired grimace "This will cost me a lot of papers. And I wanted to leave all the work at the Fosters, damn it."  
"Wait, does that mean that Richie can keep Jeremy as a temporary foster parent?" Eddie asked, amazed and relieved about the situation, despite the confusion that still reigned supreme in his head.

"No, I can't leave a primary school child to a young, inexperienced man without the suitable decree, he needs at least a week-long check before starting the real test"

On hearing her, the shoulders of both men fell, watching the poor secretary with a disappointed look "But," she continued, adjusting her glasses on her nose "If you find a temporary foster parent who is near you, who has experience and who accepts to have the child for the time necessary at the end of Mr. Tozier's checks, then he will be able to keep the child up to date. Even if it seems to me useless since we will probably find the mother before two days-"

"Did I ever tell you how much it suits you that shirt in the 26-minute we know?" Richie said in a rush, feeling almost the urge to take a few steps and shake the woman's hand.

"Out of my office now, I give you two hours to find a foster parent, come back with someone ready to sign or don't do it at aòll" the woman murmured, dull, no longer looking at Richie and giving Eddie a quick smile, before get back to writing and don't deign to look at them anymore.

As they left, Eddie looked at Richie's winning expression "I don't understand why you decided to take this road Rich, really, foster houses aren't so bad"

Richie didn't turn to look at him, but the smile fell "I just want to be sure that everything goes well for him, from now on. I promised him, Eds, you know"

"Don't call me that. And then, do you already have anyone in mind to ask? I hope you have more than one name in your head because I don't think many people are willing to keep a 7-year-old child for a week"

Richie began to grin again "Just a name, well, two, but they count together. They have that fitting decree written all over their faces and they love me! I'm sure they won’t refuse for any reason!"

**Author's Note:**

> *Cross "cute cute cute" and "he knew well enough" from the Reddie Agenda* Perfect.  
> Hope you like the first chapter, tgere will be a second as soon as I can. This is my truly first long fic in Engish so, i dont ask to be kind, but if you notice some mistakes please tell me, it will only upgrade my story.


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